Web butt splicer



n 1961 J. A KILMARTIN 2,987,108

WEB BUTT SPLICER Filed Feb. 2, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

horn/[r1 June 6, 1961 Y J. A; .KlLMARTlN 2,987,108

WEB BUTT SPLICER Filed Feb. 2, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

' 6. Z ./0AW 4 fiumemv Mjlw t June 1961 J. A. KlLMARTlN 2,987,108

WEB BUTT SPLICER Filed Feb. 2, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR.

Jay (fut Merl mgwa: 771m United States Patent 2,987,108 WEB BUTT SPLICERJohn A. Kilmartin, Port Chester, N.Y., assignor to Mercury EngineeringCorporation, Milwaukee, Wis, a corporation of Wisconsin Filed Feb. 2,1959, Ser. No. 790,649 3 Claims. (Cl. 154-423) This invention relates toweb handling machines and more particularly to a splicer for forming abutt joint in the web.

In this type of equipment in general, the web is moving at a high speedand a new roll of web material must be spliced to the old one in arapid, positive and accurate manner. The joint so formed should besmooth and strong so as not to impede the travel of the web through theprinters, punch presses or other machine operations.

Machines for forming a splice are necessarily large and are ofconsiderable weight. As they must operate at high speeds, it isdesirable to hold the weight and number of the moving parts, andconsequently the inertia and momentum problems, to a minimum.

In accordance with the present invention, a butt splicer for a webmaterial has been provided which is economical to manufacture, hasrelatively few and comparatively light-weight moving parts, is compactin design, simple in operation and efficient in forming a smooth, strongand accurate butt joint.

Another and important aspect of the invention provides a butt splicerthat can be used with web supply machines which feed the new web from aposition either above or' below the running web. The conversion from onetype of feed to the other is made by using many common parts, some ofwhich perform dual functions, and which contribute to a versatile andeconomically produced machine.

These and other objects and advantages will appear later as thisdisclosure progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a machine made in accordancewith the present invention, the view being taken generally along theline 1- 1 in FIGURE 2 and showing the heads in the web-cutting position,certain parts being broken away or removed for the sake of clarity;

FIGURE 2 is an elevational view taken from the infeed side of themachine and generally along the line 2-2 in FIGURE 1, parts being brokenaway, in section or removed for clarity;

. FIGURE 3 is a schematic plan view showing the position of the machinerelative to a web moving therethrough;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view through a completed butt jointand along line 4-4 in FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary view showing the oscillatableheads in thenormal operating position with the bottom head in the lowered position,as when the web is running through the machine;

FIGURE 6 is another fragmentary view of the heads showing them in thetape-applying poisition;

FIGURE 7 is a diagram of the pneumatic circuit for the machine foroperation when the new web is fed into the machine from a position abovethe old traveling web, and

FIGURE 8 is an enlarged, fragmentary, perspective view of one end of theknives.

The machine will first be described as used when a new web is fed intothe machine on top of the traveling web to which it is to be spliced.The construction of the machine, however, is such that it can also makea splice when the new web is fed from beneath the old web, and this canbe accomplished merely by the operator throwing a switch. Many of theparts of the machine can thus perform dual functions, depending on therelative locations of the two webs to be joined. Such convertability ishighly desirable and practical because the splicer can thereby be usedwith a shuttle-type roll stand wherein the new web is fed into thesplicer from above the old web, and the next time from below the oldweb. The flexibility of the splicer in this respect is accomplished bythe use of parts having common toolage as well as serving in dualcapacities.

As shown in FIGURE 3, the machine can be placed at various anglesrelative 'to the direction of web travel to thereby form a non-rightangular splice which is generally stronger than a right angular spliceand one which distributes the web tension more advantageously across theweb width.

The splicer provided by this invention applies a piece of tape T and Tacross the top and bottom of the joint as shown in FIGURE 4, to connectthe old web W with the new web Wn.

Referring in greater detail to the drawings, the main frame of themachine is comprised of two vertical side walls 10 and 11 which arespaced apart and arranged in parallelism, and are rigidly securedtogether by tubular cross braces 12, 13 and 13a (FIGURE 1).

An upper head UH in the form of a weldment is oscillatably mounted onshafts 14 and 15 which are fixed in sides 10 and 11, respectively. Theupper head carries a pair of spaced arms 17 and 18 which are weldedthereto and are of T-shape cross-section and extend generallycoextensively with the width of the head proper. This head has a channelmember 19 secured along its length by cap bolts 20 and to which a knife21 is secured by bolt means 22. This upper knife has a cutting edge 21awhich does not taper from one of its ends to the other. An arm 23extends from one side of the upper head and is pivotally attached to theextensible double-acting air motor 24 by which the head is oscillatedbetween the positions shown in FIGURES 1 and 6. The air motor 24 hasanother double-acting air motor 24a secured in head endto-head endrelationship therewith, which motor 24a is pivotally attached by itspiston rod to the main frame at 25 and is used when the operation of themachine is reversed, as will later appear, when feeding the new web frombeneath the old web.

A lower head LH is mounted within the main frame and as well as beingoscillatably mounted, is also vertically slidable in the frame, Thishead is oscillatingly mounted on shafts 27 and 28 which, in turn, arecarried in their respective blocks 29 and 30 slidably mounted in slots31 and 32 in the side walls. A large bracket 34 is bolted at its upperend to block 30 and is secured at its lower end to a guide block 35slidably mounted on the inside of wall 1=1 between guides 36. Adouble-acting air motor 37 is pivotally attached to the arm 38 of thislower head and is also rigidly connected in tandem to a similar airmotor 37a secured at its lower end to block 35. Thus, the lower head,the large bracket 34 and the tandem motors 37 and 37a are verticallypositionable as a unit by means to be described. Motor 37 will bereferred to specifically first as only it is actuated when the new webis fed from above the old web.

The lower head includes a pair of square bars 40 and 41 which extend inspaced relationship to one another along the upper part of the head LH.A lower blade 43 is secured by bolt means 44 to bar 40 and has a cuttingedge 43a which tapers along the length of the blade so as to makeinitial contact with its complementary knife edge 21a only at one endthereof. A pair of spring-loaded holding tubes 46, 47 are mounted on thelower head along opposite sides of the lower knife and bear against,respectively, the channel member 19 and angle iron member 49 of theupper head. The webs of material are thus firmly held as they are cut bythe knife blades.

The lower head also has a pair of tape-holding arms 51 and 52 which aresimilar to arms 17 and 18 of the upper head, and all of which have achannel-shaped sheet metal bar 54 that is slipped on from one endthereof and through the openings 55 or 56 in the side walls of themachine. These bars 54 each have a piece of resilient material 57, suchas rubber, cemented along their outer surfaces, and on which a piece oftape T and T may be applied with an adhesive side facing outwardly. Theoperator can easily remove these bars from their arms, place a new pieceof tape thereon, and then slide the bars back over their arms.

Arms 18 and 51 are adapted to swing directly opposite to one another andinto the central position shown in FIGURE 6 where they act to presstheir respective pieces of tape along the web joint, when the lower headis raised, as follows.

A torque tube 60 is oscillatingly mounted in the side walls 10 and 11and has crank arms 61 and 62 rigidly secured at opposite ends thereof.These crank arms are, in turn, pivotally connected through theirrespective bifurcated links 63 and 64 to their slide blocks 29 and 30.Another crank arm 65 is aiso secured to the tube and its free end ispivotally attached to one end of a large double-acting air motor C. Thismotor is pivotally secured at its upper end to the side wall 10 by stubshaft CS. In this manner, the large air cylinder unit C acts through thebell crank formed by arms 65 and 61 to oscillate the torque tube 60 andthereby vertically shift the side block 29 and 30 and its associatedlower head LH through the toggle linkage located at each end of thetube.

In operation, as the old web W is being pulled through the machine, thelower head is in the lowermost and central position (FIGURE the holdingclamp 66 is held upwardly by the .springs 67 at each of its ends, andthe suction cups 68 are inactive. The new web Wn is then brought in overthe moving web W and its leading end is secured to the tape carried byarm 17, where it is held in the position shown in FIGURES 1 and 5. Atthis time, the operator also manually operates the valve V (FIGURE 7) tothereby activate suction cups 68 which firmly hold the new web Wn on theother side of the knife. Tapes have also been previously applied by theoperator to arms 18 and 51. Arm 52 and lower suction cups 70 are notused during this particular operation wherein the new web is fed fromabove.

FIGURE 5 thus represents the arrangement at the time a splicingoperation is to be commenced. The lower head is down because the tube 60(FIGURE 1) is at its counterclockwise position as indicated by theleft-hand dotted position of crank 61.

The other machines in the line need not be stopped during the splicingoperation because of the loop L of the web W which has been stored upand which is partially used up during the splicing process.

To begin the splicing operation, the robot air cylinder units R areactuated to cause the clamp 66 to be lowered into position where itfirmly holds the old web from moving. The air cylinder unit C issimultaneously contracted to rotate the tube in a clockwise directionuntil the arm 61 contacts valve V1. During this clockwise rotation, thelower head has been raised and lowered. Thereupon, cylinder unit C isextended to immediately return the tube in a counterclockwise directionto its starting position, and during this return rotation of the tube,the head has again been raised and lowered.

More specifically, to start the operation, the operator stops thepulling action on the web W, or pre-feed, by operating a valve (notshown) to give a timed air blast from .the pre-feed via line A. Thisblast switches valve V5 and also switches valve V6. Valve V6 throws airto both of the clamping cylinders R and also shuts valve V11. Valve V11is thus set so it is ready for subsequent use, as will appear. Valve V5acts to reverse air to the air motor C (motor C is always loaded) tothereby start movement of the linkage, that is, rotation of the tube inthe clockwise direction.

It is during the first upward movement of the lower head that thecutting action of the two webs occurs, as illustrated in FIGURE 1wherein the tube is being rotated in the clockwise direction and thelower head has reached the upper limit of its travel.

For preliminarily guiding the lower head into exact registry with theupper head, a guide or leader pin 72 (FIGURE 2) is carried by each endof the lower head and these leader pins 72 enter their respective bores73 in the upper head. For a final registry of the knife blades relativeto one another, the adjacent corners (FIGURE 5) of the leading ends ofthe blades are slightly rounded to insure smooth contact therebetween.As previously mentioned, the lower blade is tapered from one end to theother which causes the blades to engage one another, first at one end(the right hand end as viewed in FIGURE 2) and a slight interfering fitis pro-. vided between the blades at this leading end to insure apositive contact between the blades all along their length as thecutting action takes place progressively therealong.

With the present knife arrangement wherein one of the knife blades isfixed and the other is accurately guided in reciprocatory movement inrespect thereto, a precise and clean cut is made through both webs whichinsures the alignment of the abutting edges.

After the cut has been completed, the tension on the remaining or unusedpart of the old web causes it to be quickly snapped out from the infeedside of the machine. The tube continues its rotation in a clockwisedirection and the arm 61 likewise continues its movement until itactuates the spring-returned air valve V1.

Valve V1 then reverses valve V7 which, in turn, reverses the aircylinder units 24 and 37. (Cylinders 24 and 37 are also normally keptloaded to prevent them from moving.) This causes the heads to be rotatedto the position shown in FIGURE 6, at which time the lower head is alsodown. As the heads thus rotate, the arm 17 carries the severed portionof the new web out of the way, and the heads actuate their respectiveair valves V2 and V3 which are in series. Actuation of both of thevalves V2 and V3 causes air motor C to retract, thereby rotating tube 60counterclockwise to its original position. In doing so, the toggle linksare again straightened which raises the lower head, forcing the tapescarried by the resilient pads on arms 18 and 51 to be firmly pressedinto engagement with the web, thus completing the joint.

The thickness of the resilient pads on the arms may be varied to therebyvary the pressure with which they bear against one another, it beingunnecessary to provide an adjustment in the toggle linkages themselvesfor that purpose.

More specifically, the last part of the operation of the machine and itscircuitry is as follows. As the linkage is returned to the startingposition by cylinder unit C, a spring-returned valve V4 (FIGURES 1 and7) is actuated momentarily which permits air pressure to move valves V8and V9, which are timed to stay closed for a few seconds. Valve V9allows air to go to valve V10 for a few seconds and valve V8 sends airto valve V10 which returns manual vacuum valve V10 to normal. When valveV10 goes to normal, air from valve V9 goes through V10 to the vacuumcups 68 to thereby blow the new web otf. Valve V8 also sends air to movevalve V6 to normal and unloads cylinders R to unclamp the web. Valve V6also then removes air pressure from valve V11 which is thenspring-returned to normal. Valve V8 furthermore moves valve V7 whichreturns cylinder units .24 and 37 to normal, and it also sends airthrough the previously opened valve V11 to start the web pre-feed again.

When it is necessary to use the above described machine for feeding thenew web from underneath the old web, the operation is generally the sameexcept the lower set of suction cups 70 would be used, as would the airmotors 24a and 37a instead of their tandem counterparts 24 and 37. Thisserves to reverse the direction of swing for the heads, and arms 17 and52 would then be used to apply the sealing tapes across the butt joint.Ann 51 would be used to remove the unused leading portion of the newweb. Arm 52 and the upper set of suction cups would be unused in thisfeed situation.

Various modes of carrying out the invention are contemplated as beingwithin the scope of the following claims particularly pointing out anddistinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as theinvention.

I claim:

1. A butt splicer for webs passable therethrough comprising, an upperhead having a knife blade and taping means, said head being oscillatablymounted for alternately swinging said blade and taping means into anoper ative position, a lower head reciprocal toward and away from saidupper head, said lower head having a knife blade engageable with saidfirst blade to out said web and also having taping means engageable withsaid first taping means to join said webs, said lower head also beingoscillatably mounted for alternatively swinging its said blade andtaping means into alignment with their corresponding upper head bladeand taping means, means for reciprocating said lower head towards saidupper head twice for every splice, and means for alternately swingingsaid heads into blade-aligned position for one reciprocation of saidlower head and into said taping means alignment as said lower head isreciprocated the second time.

2. A butt splicer for splicing an old web to a new web which is fed fromeither above or below said old web, said splicer comprising, an upperhead having a knife blade and also a taping means located on each of twoopposite sides of said blade, said head being oscillatably mounted forselectively swinging said blade and taping means into an operativeposition, a lower head reciprocal between an operative and aninoperative position and having a knife blade cooperable with said firstblade to cut said web and also having taping means located on each oftwo opposite sides of its blade which are cooperable with said upperhead taping means to join said webs, said lower head also beingoscillatably mounted for selectively swinging its said blade and tapingmeans into alignment with their corresponding upper head blade andtaping means, means for reciprocating said lower head into its saidoperative position twice for every splice, and means for swinging saidheads into blade operative position for cutting the webs on onereciprocation of said head and then swinging one pair of said tapingmeans into alignment just prior to said lower head being reciprocatedthe second time to tape the abutting edges of the webs together whensaid second reciprocation occurs.

3. A device as defined in claim 1, further characterized in that saidmeans for alternately swinging said heads into blade alignment for onereciprocation of said head and into said taping means alignment as saidlower head is reciprocated a second time, is actuated by movement ofsaid reciprocating means.

Simpson Nov. 24, 1953 Armelin et al. Oct. 16, 1956

